The outer planets in our solar system are the gaseous planets. Sometimes called the gas giants. They are the largest planets in the solar system. These planets are
Jupiter Jupiter means: Jupiter, known as Zeus in Greek mythology, over threw his father Saturn to become king of the gods. He then split the universe with his brothers Neptune and Pluto. The Planet Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. The Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1000 times. Jupiter is a very stormy planet. There are storms found throughout the atmosphere, and most of the storms seem to never end. The many different cloud formations and storms in the atmosphere also make Jupiter a very colorful planet. Jupiter's great red spot, visible in the picture above to the right, is where a giant storm has been raging for at least 300 years. This red spot is also called "The Eye of Jupiter" because of its shape. This storm's super hurricane winds blow across an area larger than the Earth. Jupiter is considered a gas giant because it does not have a solid surface. Under its atmosphere is a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water. What lies in between that ocean and the atmosphere? Actually, there is no in between. The atmosphere slowly gets thicker and thicker until it becomes part of the ocean. In other words, Jupiter's ocean has no surface on which you could float a boat. The sky becomes the ocean. Rings Did you know Jupiter has rings? They are faint and are only able to be viewed when Jupiter passes in front of the Sun. This is because the light from the Sun lights them up for us to see here on Earth. There are three rings in all. They are named Gossamer, Main and Halo. Moons:
Jupiter has 50 official moons and 12 provisional (unofficial) moons. The four largest and most well-known were discovered by Galileo in the year 1610. Their names are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Some of the other moons are Adrastea, Ananke, Carme, Elara, Himalia, Leda, Lysithea, Metis, Pasiphae, Sinope, and Thebe.(read the full article here) Saturn
Saturn means: Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture. He was called Cronus by the Greeks. He is the son of Uranus and the father of Jupiter. Saturn overthrew his father to become king of the gods, but was then overthrown himself by his son Jupiter. The Planet In many ways, Saturn is similar to Jupiter, but it is much smaller. It is the second largest planet in our Solar System and it is a gas giant like Jupiter. Under the clouds of methane, hydrogen and helium, the sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes a giant ocean of liquid chemicals. Saturn is the least dense planet in our Solar System. It is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium, which are the two lightest elements in the universe and thus make Saturn the lightest planet that we know of. This is why you wouldn't weigh as much on Saturn as you think you would because of its size. And because Saturn is so light, it does not have as much gravity. Interestingly, it is believed Saturn would actually be able to float in water because the hydrogen and helium that make up the planet are so lightweight. Because Saturn is such a lightweight planet and it spins so fast, Saturn is not perfectly round like most of the other planets. Like Jupiter, Saturn is wider in the middle and more narrow near its top and bottom. The Rings Saturn is most well-known for its rings. However, it is not the only planet with rings. Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings. Saturn is a favorite object for many observers. Its beautiful rings are 169,800 miles wide (approx 273,266 km). But the rings are amazingly thin. If you turned the rings on their side, they would be able to fit between the goal posts on a football field. The rings are split into categories, Ring A, Ring B, Ring C, Ring D, Ring E, Ring F and Ring G, totaling 7 in all. The rings are not solid but rather are made up of particles of ice, dust and rocks. The rings are held in place around Saturn by the moons that also orbit this large planet. The gravity of these moons also cause the gaps that are seen in between the rings.
Moons: Saturn has 53 official moons and 9 provisional (unofficial) moons. The most well-known of Saturn's moons is probably Titan. It is the second largest moon in the Solar System next to Jupiter's Ganymede. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury. Some of the other moons are Atlas, Calypso, Dione, Enceladus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Janus, Mimas, Phoebe, and Tethys. (read the entire article here)
Uranus Uranus means: In astronomy mythology, Uranus was the lord of the skies and husband of Earth. He was also the king of the gods until he was overthrown by his son Saturn. The Planet Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is a gas giant. But Uranus is a little different. Unlike all the other planets and most of the moons in our Solar System, Uranus spins on its side. It is believed that long ago a very large object smashed into this planet. The crash was so powerful that it completely changed the direction of Uranus' planetary rotation. However, a more recent theory is that the extreme tilt of Uranus' axis may have been caused by a large moon that was slowly pulled away from the planet by another large planet long ago when our Solar System was still new. It is thought that the gravitational pull of this moon moving away from Uranus may have caused it to tilt on its side. Like Saturn, the thick atmosphere of Uranus is made up of methane, hydrogen and helium. But Uranus is an extremely cold planet. It has been called the "ice giant." It is believed that Uranus is made up of rock and ice and has a large rocky core. Because of the tremendous planetary pressure of Uranus, there could possibly be trillions of large diamonds in or on the surface of this planet. Scientists also believe that on the surface of Uranus there may be a huge ocean. And, interestingly, it is thought that the temperature of this ocean may be extremely hot, maybe even as hot as 5000 degrees Fahrenheit (2760 Celsius). Uranus is almost identical to the planet Neptune. Rings Uranus also has rings, though they don't stretch out as far as the rings of Saturn. The rings of Uranus are made up of black dust particles and large rocks.
Moons: Uranus has 27 moons. Five of these moons are large and the rest are smaller. The largest moon is Titania, followed by Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda. Some of the smaller moons are named: Belinda, Bianca, Caliban, Cordelia, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Ophelia, Portia, Puck, and Rosalind. (read the full article here)
Neptune
Neptune means: At first, Neptune was only the god of water, but later on this was extended to include the sea when he became associated with the Greek god Poseidon. The Planet For many, centuries people did not know that this planet even existed. It was discovered by Johann Galle and Heinrich D'Arrest in 1846. Neptune is the smallest of the four gas giants in our Solar System. Much like Saturn and Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium and methane. Not much was known about Neptune until it was visited by the spacecraft Voyager 2 on August 25, 1989. Voyager 2 took many pictures of the planet, and much of what we know today about Neptune came from this single visit. These pictures show a brilliant blue planet with a few thin white clouds laced around its surface. In Neptune's atmosphere, there is a large white cloud that moves around rather quickly. The "scooting" of this cloud around the atmosphere has led it to be named "Scooter." When Voyager 2 visited Neptune, its pictures showed a giant storm much like the storm on Jupiter. This storm is called the "Great Dark Spot" because it appears as a dark oval shape on the surface of the planet. We do not know how long this storm has been active or if it is still present. More recently, the Hubble Space Telescope sent pictures back to Earth and there was no sign of the Great Dark Spot. These pictures did show two other dark spots that eventually faded away. Neptune is a very windy place. No other planet in the Solar System has winds that are as strong as Neptune's. The winds near the Great Dark Spot were believed to have reached nearly 1,200 miles per hour (approx 1931 km per hour). Perhaps this extremely windy atmosphere contributes to the appearance and disappearance of the great dark spots. Rings Neptune has six rings which circle the planet. These rings are believed to be fairly new. The rings are more irregular than the rings of other planets. There are areas of varying thickness throughout the rings.
Neptune has 13 moons that we know of. Because Neptune is so far away, it is difficult to see any of these worlds. There are probably many more moons orbiting this blue planet which we have not yet discovered. Perhaps you will be the astronomer who discovers some of these worlds. The first moon to be discovered was Triton. Triton was discovered by an amateur astronomer in England named William Lassell only 17 days after Neptune was discovered in 1846. The names of the other moons are: Despina, Galatea, Halimede, Laomedeia, Larissa, Naiad, Nereid, Neso, Proteus, Psamathe, Sao, and Thalassa. (read the full article here)
The Gaseous Planets
The outer planets in our solar system are the gaseous planets. Sometimes called the gas giants. They are the largest planets in the solar system. These planets are
Jupiter
Jupiter means:
Jupiter, known as Zeus in Greek mythology, over threw his father Saturn to become king of the gods. He then split the universe with his brothers Neptune and Pluto.
The Planet
Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. The Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1000 times.
Jupiter is a very stormy planet. There are storms found throughout the atmosphere, and most of the storms seem to never end. The many different cloud formations and storms in the atmosphere also make Jupiter a very colorful planet.
Jupiter's great red spot, visible in the picture above to the right, is where a giant storm has been raging for at least 300 years. This red spot is also called "The Eye of Jupiter" because of its shape. This storm's super hurricane winds blow across an area larger than the Earth.
Jupiter is considered a gas giant because it does not have a solid surface. Under its atmosphere is a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water. What lies in between that ocean and the atmosphere? Actually, there is no in between. The atmosphere slowly gets thicker and thicker until it becomes part of the ocean. In other words, Jupiter's ocean has no surface on which you could float a boat. The sky becomes the ocean.
Rings
Did you know Jupiter has rings? They are faint and are only able to be viewed when Jupiter passes in front of the Sun. This is because the light from the Sun lights them up for us to see here on Earth. There are three rings in all. They are named Gossamer, Main and Halo.
Moons:
Jupiter has 50 official moons and 12 provisional (unofficial) moons. The four largest and most well-known were discovered by Galileo in the year 1610. Their names are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Some of the other moons are Adrastea, Ananke, Carme, Elara, Himalia, Leda, Lysithea, Metis, Pasiphae, Sinope, and Thebe.(read the full article here)
Saturn
Saturn means:
Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture. He was called Cronus by the Greeks. He is the son of Uranus and the father of Jupiter. Saturn overthrew his father to become king of the gods, but was then overthrown himself by his son Jupiter.
The Planet
In many ways, Saturn is similar to Jupiter, but it is much smaller. It is the second largest planet in our Solar System and it is a gas giant like Jupiter. Under the clouds of methane, hydrogen and helium, the sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes a giant ocean of liquid chemicals.
Saturn is the least dense planet in our Solar System. It is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium, which are the two lightest elements in the universe and thus make Saturn the lightest planet that we know of. This is why you wouldn't weigh as much on Saturn as you think you would because of its size. And because Saturn is so light, it does not have as much gravity. Interestingly, it is believed Saturn would actually be able to float in water because the hydrogen and helium that make up the planet are so lightweight.
Because Saturn is such a lightweight planet and it spins so fast, Saturn is not perfectly round like most of the other planets. Like Jupiter, Saturn is wider in the middle and more narrow near its top and bottom.
The Rings
Saturn is most well-known for its rings. However, it is not the only planet with rings. Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings. Saturn is a favorite object for many observers. Its beautiful rings are 169,800 miles wide (approx 273,266 km). But the rings are amazingly thin. If you turned the rings on their side, they would be able to fit between the goal posts on a football field. The rings are split into categories, Ring A, Ring B, Ring C, Ring D, Ring E, Ring F and Ring G, totaling 7 in all. The rings are not solid but rather are made up of particles of ice, dust and rocks. The rings are held in place around Saturn by the moons that also orbit this large planet. The gravity of these moons also cause the gaps that are seen in between the rings.
Moons:
Saturn has 53 official moons and 9 provisional (unofficial) moons. The most well-known of Saturn's moons is probably Titan. It is the second largest moon in the Solar System next to Jupiter's Ganymede. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury. Some of the other moons are Atlas, Calypso, Dione, Enceladus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Janus, Mimas, Phoebe, and Tethys. (read the entire article here)
Uranus
Uranus means:
In astronomy mythology, Uranus was the lord of the skies and husband of Earth. He was also the king of the gods until he was overthrown by his son Saturn.
The Planet
Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is a gas giant. But Uranus is a little different. Unlike all the other planets and most of the moons in our Solar System, Uranus spins on its side. It is believed that long ago a very large object smashed into this planet. The crash was so powerful that it completely changed the
direction of Uranus' planetary rotation. However, a more recent theory is that the extreme tilt of Uranus' axis may have been caused by a large moon that was slowly pulled away from the planet by another large planet long ago when our Solar System was still new. It is thought that the gravitational pull of this moon moving away from Uranus may have caused it to tilt on its side.
Like Saturn, the thick atmosphere of Uranus is made up of methane, hydrogen and helium. But Uranus is an extremely cold planet. It has been called the "ice giant." It is believed that Uranus is made up of rock and ice and has a large rocky core. Because of the tremendous planetary pressure of Uranus, there could possibly be trillions of large diamonds in or on the surface of this planet.
Scientists also believe that on the surface of Uranus there may be a huge ocean. And, interestingly, it is thought that the temperature of this ocean may be extremely hot, maybe even as hot as 5000 degrees Fahrenheit (2760 Celsius).
Uranus is almost identical to the planet Neptune.
Rings
Uranus also has rings, though they don't stretch out as far as the rings of Saturn. The rings of Uranus are made up of black dust particles and large rocks.
Moons:
Uranus has 27 moons. Five of these moons are large and the rest are smaller. The largest moon is Titania, followed by Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda. Some of the smaller moons are named: Belinda, Bianca, Caliban, Cordelia, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Ophelia, Portia, Puck, and Rosalind. (read the full article here)
Neptune
At first, Neptune was only the god of water, but later on this was extended to include the sea when he became associated with the Greek god Poseidon.
The Planet
For many, centuries people did not know that this planet even existed. It was discovered by Johann Galle and Heinrich D'Arrest in 1846.
Neptune is the smallest of the four gas giants in our Solar System. Much like Saturn and Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium and methane.
Not much was known about Neptune until it was visited by the spacecraft Voyager 2 on August 25, 1989. Voyager 2 took many pictures of the planet, and much of what we know today about Neptune came from this single visit. These pictures show a brilliant blue planet with a few thin white clouds laced around its surface.
In Neptune's atmosphere, there is a large white cloud that moves around rather quickly. The "scooting" of this cloud around the atmosphere has led it to be named "Scooter."
When Voyager 2 visited Neptune, its pictures showed a giant storm much like the storm on Jupiter. This storm is called the "Great Dark Spot" because it appears as a dark oval shape on the surface of the planet. We do not know how long this storm has been active or if it is still present. More recently, the Hubble Space Telescope sent pictures back to Earth and there was no sign of the Great Dark Spot. These pictures did show two other dark spots that eventually faded away.
Neptune is a very windy place. No other planet in the Solar System has winds that are as strong as Neptune's. The winds near the Great Dark Spot were believed to have reached nearly 1,200 miles per hour (approx 1931 km per hour). Perhaps this extremely windy atmosphere contributes to the appearance and disappearance of the great dark spots.
Rings
Neptune has six rings which circle the planet. These rings are believed to be fairly new. The rings are more irregular than the rings of other planets. There are areas of varying thickness throughout the rings.
Moons:
Neptune has 13 moons that we know of. Because Neptune is so far away, it is difficult to see any of these worlds. There are probably many more moons orbiting this blue planet which we have not yet discovered. Perhaps you will be the astronomer who discovers some of these worlds. The first moon to be discovered was Triton. Triton was discovered by an amateur astronomer in England named William Lassell only 17 days after Neptune was discovered in 1846. The names of the other moons are: Despina, Galatea, Halimede, Laomedeia, Larissa, Naiad, Nereid, Neso, Proteus, Psamathe, Sao, and Thalassa. (read the full article here)